Truth Ain't So Sweetwater
by XxMusicxKelseyxX
Summary: AU Riverdale sits on the slogan "town with pep!" but it has a ranking economy due to local businessman Lodge and this exacerbated a drug epidemic. Jughead and Betty look for answers when someone unexpected ODs. BettyxJughead
1. A Humble Prologue

Our story begins with the arrival of one Veronica Lodge and her elite family that probably belonged to the top one percent. I won't pretend that Riverdale was always sunshine and rainbows, but this arrival marked a noteable change that would forever stain the history books. If someone were to read them and could go back, they would probably try to prevent this particular family from moving here and jumpstarting this series of events but it was the inevitable fate of Riverdale so it would have happened all the same.

When Hiram Lodge rolled into town, he brought with him a Mallmart. It was a superstore chain that started popping up all over the world, but for a small town like Riverdale it was a big deal.

The Coopers used to get their prescriptions at Mort's pharmacy. The Andrews used to buy their CDs at the music store. My dad used to get his shoes at the shoe warehouse. Now they all go to Mallmart, even for groceries. They had it all, even a dollar section to replace the local dollar store. This was the beginning of the end.

I said Riverdale wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, but there was a bit more to it than that. With a small population of about 10,000 in town, there wasn't a lot for the local kids to do. The school tried to encourage sports and other school spirit activities like the school paper, but it didn't prevent what was happening now.

I spit out my coffee. _Jason Blossom found dead by Sweetwater River. Alleged Overdose, No Foul Play Suspected._ It was front page news that I was reading on the online edition of The Register. I didn't have to keep reading to know where this was going. Pretty much all overdoses lately were from the same drug: fentanyl. What marked this as different and shocking was the fact that the victim was so high profile.

Veronica Lodge was rich, but Riverdale had it's own elite who had an empire large enough to rival the Hiram's. It was the Blossom's, who made their money in sticky maple syrup also known around here as sweet water.

On top of being rich, Jason was also the star arhlete as he was captain of both water polo and football teams. He was the kind of rich where they would fly out to New York at a moment's notice in a private helicopter for a slice of pizza. Why the hell was Jason doing drugs? It made me wonder, but it became very apparent once I looked around that I wasn't asking the same questions as everyone else. We had already lost so many souls this year, both teens and adults alike, that most of us were completely numb to it. They didn't question the circumstances or anything, they just gossiped because it was _Jason_ and he was insanely popular.

His twin sister Cheryl sauntered over the room, shooting dirty looks at everyone. She was suspiciously close to her late brother, and was probably not coping with the loss very well.

I closed my laptop and cleaned up the mess. I was on the far side of our corner table, so I don't think anyone even noticed. Betty, Veronica, and Kevin were gossiping. Veronica being the Veronica from before. She joined our friend group because she thought Betty was nice and she had a thing for Archie I think. Speaking of Arch, he was fiddling with his old guitar. Like I said, nobody would even notice me, and nobody was too concerned about Jason.

I pulled out my phone and texted my penpal from one city over, Sabrina Spellman. She lived with her two aunts in Greendale. It was a town partnership to increase typing speed back in elementary and we just never quit talking. She was my outside perspective because her town was not ruined by rich people or drug problems, at least nowhere near the extent as here. Unofficial crime capital of the state, represent.

I sent her a link to the article and asked for her opinion. Unsurprisingly, she messaged me back right away. She took the bait. **Why is a rich kid doing hard drugs.**

All of a sudden the seat beside me was taken, and when I looked over I could see why. Since I last looked over, things had shifted and now Archie was singing a song to Veronica. Not just any song, a song he wrote _for her._ I squeezed Betty's hand in understanding. It sucked being the shoulder to cry on, mostly because it meant Betty was the one doing the crying. I don't know what it was but it always bothered me how ignorant Archie was to Betty's feelings. He most likely was too caught up in his atmosphere to even notice she had moved. After a moment, Betty composed herself. Of course she wasn't actually crying and I would bet a year's salary I was the only one who could even spot a Cooper breakdown since she tried so hard to mask it.

"What are you working on over here by yourself?" she asked, coming out of her own self wollowing and needing a distraction. Betty was as much a Nancy Drew as she was the epitome of girl next door, so I figured I would bring her in.

"I was just texting Sabrina about Jason." The look of sadness had returned but clearly the reasons were different. Betty got along pretty well with Jason since he was dating her older sister Polly. If this incident never happened, they very well could have ended up as family. The Coopers were very _high school sweethearts,_ which annoyed me to no end because Betty tied herself down to a guy who would probably continue to ignore her until his late twenties when his homing instincts would finally kick in. She shouldn't have to wait around while he dates like there's no tomorrow. Archie is my childhood best friend but I grew up watching this happen. Betty was just the kind of girl you settle down with and that's not fun for a guy who wants to date around in high school.

Betty hasn't actually seen Jason recently, though, because her sister was in rehab for getting caught with marijuana at school. If you believe in gateway drugs, then Jason's death seems a bit less suspicious and more expected. Despite the huge price difference, somebody in this town was an asshole and had been lacing pot. That's how Darren died a month ago, but of course his parents tried to cover it up and say it was some sort of accident. Oh right, you just "accidentally" roll a join, light it, and inhale. It was stupid. I'm pretty much honoursry straight edge at this point, but I grew up around this kind of stuff so I knew how it worked.

"Did you know he did drugs?" I doubt she would, but I was trying to unravel this. It was time I did another piece for Betty's school paper, and I was willing to follow the gossip trail.

"I don't think so. Polly said it was a social thing she did with a few of the cheerleaders, though they've never asked me to try so it may have been some of the girls that graduated or maybe OD'd."

"It seems odd to me. Kids here do drugs when they're bored. Jason has access to video games that haven't even come out yet, so he can't be bored." Betty rolled her eyes at me. "I just mean it's suspicious, and nobody else is even questioning it. I think it's time I write another article for the Blue and Gold, Betts. You in?"


	2. Of Course I'm In

"Are you in?"

"I'm the editor, of course I'm in."

"No I mean do you want to investigate with me?"

She was silent for a minute, which was actually good because it meant she was considering it.

"Alright but we're going to have to be smart about this. It sounds dangerous and my mom's over protective mode could activate at any time." _That's my girl_. "So where do we start?"

"Well when it all began, the Southside was taking a lot of heat, but most of the overdoses lately have been right here in town, so I think we can cross them off the list for now. Just who would deal drugs here? Bad question. The answer is a lot."

Suddenly everybody's phones started going off, one after the other.

"Oh my god, Reggie overdosed and is in a coma down in ICU. Let's go." Moose, Chuck, and a few other guys took off, obviously skipping class for the rest of the day. Archie may have, too, if his interests weren't moving from football to music so much. Reggie was kind of a jerk and he picked on me, but he was also fairly affluent so this should have come as a surprise. I got up and all my friends looked at me.

"Come on Betty, this lead is as good as any." They just kind of stared as we took off after the jocks, while leaving enough space so as to avoid being taunted. Earlier this year Reggie actually threw me into a vending machine, so I had learned to be a bit cautious around these guys.

They went it and we just waited around with open ears.

"Well, nurse, its fentanyl again. Just who is lacing all of these drugs? This does not bode well. I've been told they're bringing in a special unit to police the town and everything."

It was amazing what you could learn from eavesdropping if you had the time and patience to sift through all the drab. I penned it down in my notebook as Betty looked between me and the people who were talking. Things must have been spiralling out of control on the rich side if the drug team was being brought in.

We also overheard that Reggie was probably not going to wake up for a few days, maybe even weeks or months. It was the best that we could have gotten, but it was a start. Things were getting serious.

On the wall back to school, we saw one of these special forces- drug and gang violence unit cars, and I snapped a picture with Betty's phone. The resolution quality was better than mine so it would look better for the paper.

We walked by the Handimart and noticed a yellow police line. There were a few police officers out front so we decided to just hang around. Apparently there had been a robbery and the clerk tried to play hero and got himself shot in the gut. Nothing fatal, but a crime scene none the less. The Handimart was an easy target for thieves and was robbed on the regular, as well as the liquor store, but people didn't usually get hurt. This further supported my hypothesis that Riverdale was darkening. I knew this was just the beginning.

Betty and I decided to start our series on local crime with the news of the new task force in town. The picture I took was going to be on the front page, with the main story securely tucked away within. Cheryl had interrupted our office space to give us a USB drive. She said she wanted us to print her obituary she wrote for "Jay Jay" so we put that in the week's paper, too. Suddenly, our football friend entered the scene.

"Hey, Betty. I know you two are busy with the paper right now but I was thinking maybe we could do a benefit concert for Reggie? Help pay his medical bills or something?" I just looked at him. I was pretty sure he had alterior motives.

"That's a great idea, Archie!" I wasn't sure if it was the _seemingly_ altruistic intentions that excited Betty or her usual unrequited feelings. I scoffed.

"Reggie may not be Lodge level rich but he's still borderline upper class. They don't need the money. If anything, we should raise money for all the south side kids and other poor kids who have died or ended up in emerg from drugs since they actually _need_ the money." Betty looked up at me like she was contemplating.

"I'm sorry Arch, but I think Jughead is right. I'll plan it if you still want to play, though. General awareness would be good, too. If we can prevent another one then we won't have to write more tragic stories." Betty had, for as long as I have known her, the uncanny ability to spin things into a positive, no matter how dire the situation. I gave her a genuine smile and she sent a text out to Principal Weatherbee.

"Alright so we can do Saturday evening in the gym. Does 6:30 sound good to you?" He nodded in excitement and took off. I noticed a certain dark haired girl waiting by the door and following him out of the school. My thoughts were interrupted by a favor.

"I know you don't like giving speeches, but would you help me write one? I mean, it's kind of to do with our investigation and while I'm going that, maybe you can suss the crowd and gather evidence from backstage or in the crowd."

"If I'm helping you write a speech, no one can know it was me. I don't want anyone to think the mushy stuff I'm sure you're going to throw in there is mine- that would ruin my reputation!" I put my hand to my chest in mock offence to the thought.

A/N: I dedicate this chapter and basically this story to one of the people I used to consider a BFF in high school, because today would have been his birthday. He OD'd on fentanyl before it became an epidemic. Our paths may have converged but I miss you all the time.


	3. Two Coffees and a Concert

Two coffees in and I was deleting a whole paragraph for like the hundredth time. Betty had already wrote her parts so I just needed mine and then we would work together to meld them to create one solid voice. It was a lot harder than I thought, since I had to be considerate about how others might react to it. Normally I don't care about that, but it's _Betty_ who is going to read it.

She finished editing the paper, she sent it off and I gave up for the time being. It was starting to get dark out even though it wasn't super late so I offered to walk her home. She seemed to appreciate the company, though was a bit insulted by the insinuation that she couldn't handle herself. Of course, I didn't actually think that but I let her because I didn't want her to know I just wasn't ready to be out of her company yet.

I did the walk of shame back to my trailer. I had moved out for a while but was forced to move back in when my work place was bought and then torn down in order to make fancy condos and maybe a strip mall or Starbucks. I was living there at the time, the Twilight Drivein. It was for the best with the growing drug and crime rates. At least at my dad's, I'd have someone to notice if I went missing. Maybe. If he was having a more alert day. So comforting, right?

I entered and swung my backpack onto the couch as I went to grab myself a snack before what I expected to more or less be an all nighter, between writing my own article on what's been going on, and helping with the damn speech.

I settled down with a ciabatta bun sandwich that had as many topics as I could find in the fridge which included 3 different types of sandwich meat.

Riverdale is supposed to be the town with pep! The first thing you notice on your way into town is the sign that tells you just that, but things have gone dark here lately. Stores are being robbed, kids are dying or in the hospital, and violence is on the rise. I implore you all to do your very best to prevent these tragedies. Don't do drugs, and if you see someone, encourage them to do the same. _It only takes one bad hit to end a life, and when you die your suffering does not end with you. It impacts us all until we become numb machines, robots who have habituated and are subsequently immune to empathizing with the sick and the dead._ The proceeds from this concert will go to those who need it most in dealing with these problems, but more importantly we are bringing awareness to this very real issue. _People are dying and we cannot ignore it. We must act now._ Thank you.

That wasn't the whole of it, but I felt my italicizes parts really balanced the piece and made the gravity of the situation quite clear. I would not be surprised if Betty sanitized it a bit. She edited down my exposé on the decrease in quality of food from the lunch ladies and took out all my insults so I had experience with that. I had called her _Captain Whiteout_. She was good at what she did, though.

To add to all the fun house mirror numbness that is Riverdale, the next few days went by like normal at Riverdale. My throat went dry just thinking about how nonchalant everyone was acting. It almost made me think there was more to it, like something in the water making us all emotionless zombies, but this isn't Afterlife with Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones so I just had to accept that humanity preferred to stick it's head in the sand over acknowledging the gritty dark truth. But the reckoning was coming in the shape of a blonde with a high ponytail.

Betty has always been a sucker for causes. I think her first protest was when she was six years old and she found out the ice cream truck was going out of business, followed by cutting off her hair to "donate to cancer" when she found out that people who undergo chemo often lose their hair. She was just like that, a very caring person, even if in that particular instance her hair wasn't cut properly to date and her mother was absolutely furious. Poor baby Betty.

I was falling asleep and had stopped being productive so I figured that was good enough and I headed to my room to crash, stowing my laptop under my bed like I usually did.

Soon enough my alarm went off and it was morning. I didn't get nearly enough sleep but I had been used to that for quite some time so nobody could really tell at this point. I ate some toast with jam in silence before leaving for school. My dad was probably too hungover to get out of bed just yet. It didn't matter because I took the school bus anyways.

The next few days were fairly similar but with working on articles. Wake up, go to school, write with Betty, written alone, sleep, repeat. Now it was the weekend and I was Betty's primary help for setting up the gym. She hadn't asked, of course, but she wasn't exactly assigned a task force. Veronica helped a bit too, with setting up the stage and bringing some gaudy expensive decorations. Betty was too nice to reject them. Veronica also said she called in a favor with Josie and the Pussycats so there would be more of a draw.

Soon people started pouring in and the party was in full swing. Betty was manning the drinks and desserts table while she waited for the event to start. She had apparently baked up a storm after school on Friday and there was a lot to show for it. A donation jar sat by it, too, but it wasn't really a bake sale. She just had a lot of drive.

Soon she was getting everyone's attention and she read out our speech. It was actually pretty amazing hearing Betty read out words I helped write. She looked at me while she spoke, maybe to stave off any stage fright. Eventually she had to introduce Archie Andrews, who played a few original songs. None of them matched the theme of the event or anything, as one might guess, but music was the draw so I guess it didn't really matter. His last song was a ridiculously romantic duet with Veronica and I found Betty shaking like a leaf backstage. I took her out to the hall, with my ears on the lookout for trouble, and just held her close, letting her sob into my jacket.

She did all of this hard work just to experience heartbreak and it made me clench my firsts. Betty put so much effort into everything and she deserved nothing short of the best. If I could pluck the stars from the sky like diamonds, I would give them to her. In the mean time all I could do was pay her back in consolation since all her hard work was just a ploy for the guy she loved to get with her best friend.

She wiped all the pain and sorrow off and matched back in when they finished, because she was a lot stronger then she ever had to be. She thanked him for his performance and introduced the Pussycats. The crowd erupted into applause and Archie joined hands with Veronica in the crowd. I walked as fast as I could to catch her before she got too overwhelmed.

I held onto her tight and she clenched my shirt like her life depended on it. I rubbed circles into her back and she started to calm but she wouldn't let me let go. Everyone else was watching the performance and but she lead me to an empty space near the back and we swayed back and forth to the melody.

"It's a good thing that slow dancing like this is so easy. I don't think I'm very good at dancing." I half jokingly said.

"Oh Jug, you're good at anything you put your mind to." She moved a loose strand of Curley black hair that fell out of my hat to behind my ear. She was just so gorgeous and she had these amazing green eyes that drove me crazy. I felt her face gingerly in my hands, my heart racing a mile a minute.

"Hey you guys, Ronnie and I are taking off to this fancy restaurant her father owns, but I just wanted to say thank you guys. Tonight was amazing, and I appreciate it." With that he spun around with Miss Lodge under his arm. Betty's hand slipped from mine and she was gone. _Shit._

The night was just ending so I sent someone to ask Josie to say some closing statements and wish everyone a good night so I could find Betty. Almost everyone was gone by the time I found her, crying in a closet under the stairs. She was clutching onto a jacket she had found in there. Before things got dangerous, I briefly tried living in the school but it didn't work out. The jacket was mine. Did she realize that?

She must have heard me take a step because she turned around and looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She told me before that she wasn't _allowed_ to let people see her break down, but she relaxed when she saw it was just me.

"You did an amazing thing today, Betty. Screw Archie. You brought attention and raised money for an important local cause. He may have come up with the idea but you brought it to life and you can't let anyone take that away from you."

She sniffled. "Well you helped, too, Jughead. I can't take all the credit." She had a small smile and it made me proud. She could have her best friend rip her heart out and stomp on it and still manage to smile.

"Archie and Ronnie aren't my best friends, Jug." I was confused and she giggled. "You were thinking out loud. You're my best friend." She pushed up and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Here, let me walk you home before Mrs C blows a gasket." I walked her to her house in the most gentlemanly way I could imagine, with my arm on her should and hand gently on her back. When we arrived, she gave me the world's biggest hug and asked me to text her when I got home so she knew I was safe. I told her I'd oblige and I left with probably the stupidest looking goofy smile on my face. I don't know how I was going to survive this friendship.

I was about to send that text to Betty when an alert lit up my phone. It was a group convo with our gang sans Archie. Veronica has written a message.

 **Archie is in the hospital.**


	4. Messy Tracks

_Why would Archie be in the hospital?_ My mind was reeling. Was it an accident? An anxious put in my stomach told me something different but I decided to ignore it.

 **Betty, I just got home. Going to borrow Dad's truck and I can come get you to go see Archie. I know you don't want to see him right now but you'll regret it if you don't.**

I clicked send. The truck was in the driveway but Dad wasn't home. _Suspicious_. I left a note saying Archie was in the hospital and that I took the truck.

When I pulled up at Betty's, she was already waiting for me and she hopped in. She had gotten changed from her benefit outfit to simple jeans and a tshirt. She looked stunning all the same, but there was no time for thoughts like that.

Once we pulled up to the hospital, Betts launched herself at me. "I'm scared, Jug. I'm afraid that once we're inside there will be answers that I'm not ready to face. What if... what if it's fentanyl?" I froze. She articulated the thought I had been repressing since I found out. I froze for a second, but I knew she was waiting for me to say something, to rationalize this whole thing or maybe provide comfort.

"Well, we will have to find out sooner or later so we might as well figure it out now. Besides, I'm here with you and you can hold my hand if you need to." I squeezed her hand to prove it and we walked up to the building like scared children, memories of when we were seven and Archie sprained his leg and we were terrified that he was dying.

The nurse told us where to go and when we got there, we saw Fred frowning in a seat beside the bed and Veronica on the other side, holding Archie's hand.

"What happened?" I asked the question I knew Betty couldn't articulate.

"Well, Jug, it doesn't make a lot of sense. The doctors are saying it's fentanyl but we all know him and he doesn't _do_ that. He doesn't do drugs. It happened after he got home from Veronica's. I'm not sure what to believe." It looked like he was going to tear his hair out.

"He must have been drugged, but I'm not sure how. He was hanging out pretty well exclusively with Veronica all night, and she wouldn't do that. Dammit, what the hell happened." Even though Archie had been getting on my nerves lately and how oblivious he was to Betty's suffering made me want to punch him in the face, he was still like a brother to me. Betty squeezed my hand and I turned to look at her. "Excuse us."

We left the room. Her eyes were red like she was clearly holding in her tears. It was like all night she took up residence in my arms, not that I was complaining. She could live there forever if she wanted, and not just because she was my best friend. _Sorry Archie._ She'd be like a sister to me if I didn't have decidedly _other_ feelings for her. I kissed the top of her head.

"I'm scared, Juggie. What happens now? Why would somebody do that to him? What if they've been drugging people all along? What if they drug you next? I don't think k I could live if that happened." She was shaking me in a panic.

"Betty shhhhh calm down," I tried to sooth her. "Look at me, Betty." No matter how tired or tears eyes she looked, she was always the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

"I never noticed what a brilliant shade of blue your eyes were, Juggie." Her eyes were dialated and her breath fanned my face making me feel intoxicated even though I had never had so much as a sip of alcohol. We both leaned in when the beeping around us reminded me of the extremely inappropriate setting for a first kiss.

"Let's go," I breathed and pulled her to the elevator so we could go outside to the nearby park. I found a tree that offered some privacy.

"Betty, can I kiss you?" She nodded. I leaned in slow, giving her a million chances to change her mind. Finally our lips touched and a jolt of elextricity flowed from her to me. I lightly sucked on her bottom lip and she pressed her whole body to mine as she moaned, which reverberated through my mouth. We were amplified and I was extremely nervous. She was responding but I wasn't sure if she liked it. I was prevented from going further from an _ahem_. I'm surprised she only did that, considering she was Alice freakin' Cooper.

"Betty, we're going home. Now. You can visit your _friend_ tomorrow."

She looked so embarrassed but she just left with her mother, glancing at me in fear of some sort of rejection. I touched my lips and smiled. If I was going to be poisoned in some weird attempted murder plot, at least this happened.

But it made me wonder, where did Veronica take Archie before he went home? Anyone there may very well have slipped him the drugs. Their tracks were messy, and we would find them out through deduction.


	5. Back to School

It was an otherwise uneventful weekend. There was underage drinking and shoplifting, but that was beyond normal for the days by this point. I also felt like shit and was stressing out about kissing Betty. She kissed back but we were high on adrenaline and she could have easily just misinterpreted a fear response (I read an article about that once). Ughhh, what if I took advantage of Betty? How could I live with myself if I did? I kind of just isolated myself to think about everything for the weekend.

Reggie was no longer in critical care but he still remained in a coma. According to the town's paper, doctors were cautiously optimistic that he would wake up soon. Archie, on the other hand, was still on constant surveillance and might have permanent damage from the drugs. Some people had suggested giving most of the benefit concert's money to him. I agreed because I knew Fred Andrews was not doing so well. With all the new businesses and buildings, a fancy contractor company was used instead of the local option. He could have been rolling in the money if Big Business wasn't in bed with itself.

Of course, the decision was Betty's to make, not mine. I doubt Betty would ever say no to that. I asked Veronica if her family could help pay for Archie's care, and she cried on the phone. Apparently her heartless devil of a dad hated Archie so much that he wouldn't let his daughter spend any money on him, even though a New York shopping spree or a last minute trip to Paris was more than fine.

I had considered compiling Archie's demo songs and selling them to raise funds for him, but I knew that with art you want it released on your terms. I would have hated if Betty published any of my works without my explicit permission.

I walked the long way to school to avoid that certain blonde. I would be okay until we hit English class right before lunch since we shared that period. I wasn't ready, even after a few days, to face her. I felt like a coward. Or maybe I was just a good for nothing jerk of a person like my father before me? I let my music drown out the world as I felt like bashing my head into my locker.

She was clearly looking for me, something that's easy to notice when you happen to be avoiding them. I ducked in and out of rooms but now English was here and Ms Dawes was too much of a hardass to get away with skipping. She didn't look angry or even upset, just confused, but she wasn't one to make a scene in class. I was going to be cornered after class, though, that much I knew for sure.

I droned in and out while people read Orwell's Animal Farm, impatient for the inevitable. I probably pissed off a lot of people with how much I anxiously tapped my pencil on my desk. She kept glancing at me like she was trying to figure something out. The bell rang and it was like fight or flight response and I chose the latter. Unfortunately, she was faster than me. She had me cornered.

"Look, Betty, I'm sorry. There was a lot of stress and adrenaline and I didn't mean to kiss you. Can't we pretend that never happened and just continue being best friends?" She slapped me hard in the face and I almost fell over.

"Don't you dare, Jughead. I am not a _kiss and leave_ and I deserve better than that. Now you be honest, do you actually regret kissing me?" She was seething and her face was blotchy from instantly crying. After all this time, I thought what I had said was the best option, the _safe_ option, and yet here I was being a total tool, giving Archie a run for his money. I sighed. There was no coming back from this.

"Okay, I lied. Betty, you love Archie, you've _always_ loved Archie. I screwed up and let the heat of the moment push me to take something that was never mine. I like you, Betty, and I have for a while now, I just didn't want to her in your way. I wish I could regret our kiss. It was selfish of me. But I can't. I feel like I wasn't truly living, and then you filled the darkness with colour. Hate me and be angry with me, whatever you want, just please don't stop being my friend, Betts. I've been avoiding you all day because I'm terrified you'll be weirded out and leave me." I tried so hard to hold back the tears but my eyes were burning red. I then did the only thing I could think of and pulled her into my arms. I held her like I was never going to let her go.

"Jughead, do you think it's possible to like multiple people at the same time?" she mumbled in my ear. I paused to think.

"I read a quote, once, something about of you fall in love with someone else then the first person must not have meant that much to you. I think it might have been Johnny Depo who said that. But I mean polyamorous couples make it work all the time. If you're talking about us, I don't think I'm confident enough to share, if given the chance." I blushed a vibrant maroon as I rambled on.

"I like Archie less and less. He keeps hurting me, but you're always there for me Jughead. I'm sorry it took so long." She caressed my cheek and lightly pressed her lips to mine.

I breathed a contented sigh and wrapped my arms around her shoulder. "Now that we have that figured out, let's solve this mystery."

We scouted out the cafeteria, looking for Veronica. We were going to have to interrogate her gently. Despite her teary-eyed red face, she smiled and ran up to us when she saw us.

"Are you guys together, now?" She was momentarily distracted and excited. I looked at Bettt, who was biting her lip and looking at me. My arm was still around her.

"I think that's a fair way of putting it, right Betts?" She blushed rose pink and Ronnie swooned like a tumblr fangirl. Kevin came up next.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry Betty, but I take it back. This-" he gestured to the two of us "-is my OTP. Archie can suck it... May he recover fast." He placed his hand to his heart.

"Well, to take a page out of Kevin's book, I'll be blunt. Veronica, where did the two of you go after and who was there with you? Any one of them could have poisoned Arch. There's also the tiniest of possibilities that he was drugged before the two of you left this building."

"Hmmm well we went to Morton's Steakhouse. Daddy owns it. Midge Clump was our server for the evening. I'm not sure who the expo staff were, though. Cheryl also came to complain about how we all dared to let life go on as normal since Jason died. I swear that girl won't rest until we're all as miserable as she is."

Kevin's eyes illuminated. "Maybe she did it. You said so yourself that she's bitter about the lack of attention and wouldn't it be some weird poetic justice to use her brother's extra drugs to hurt Archie and make you miserable? My vote is definitely on Cheryl."

"Okay, we'll definitely mark that on the list, but did you run into anyone on the way home from that? Just want to cover all our bases." I smirked at Betty, eyes gleaming. This is what I liked about her; she didn't let her past biased an investigation. Didn't matter that Cheryl was a borderline coldhearted witch, that didn't automatically make her guilty.


	6. Goodbye Homelife

I was getting frustrated and losing hope that there was this magically thread connecting everyone together. Maybe I was just creating a conspiracy theory? Oh god, if I'm a tinfoil crown beanie then I might just flip.

I sighed and continued penciling in my essay on how Animal Farm was an allegory for the Russian Revolution. The rise of fascism and political manipulation made me on edge considering the last few months. It made me glad my mother took my sister and ran to grandma's house. The further away they were, the more likely they'd be safe. Jellybean may have only been 10, and she was smart for her age, but ecstasy and other pills were often disguised as candy with fun little images imprinted on the surface. This scared the crap out of me no matter how often they had "don't take candy from strangers" presentations.

I glanced over at Betty who had her tongue sticking out a little bit in concentration as she scribbled words for her own essay. She looked so passionate about it, even though it was just some dumb assignment.

Slam. The door opened and a police officer walked in and talked to the teacher. She pointed towards me and he sauntered over to me.

"Now Forsythe, you're not in trouble, but I need to talk to you outside for a minute." I nodded and followed him out the door. We didn't spot until he found a spot that had moderate privacy. He put his hand on my shoulder and I knew bad news was coming even if I wasn't in trouble.

"Look, kid, I'm just gonna come out with it. Your dad was caught selling marijuana. You'll have to find somewhere else to stay tonight as we search the place. It's just a precaution due to all the heavy drugs going around these days."

I was in shock. When things were bad with my dad before, I'd either stay with Archie or crash at my old job at the Twilight Drivein. Unfortunately, Archie was out of commission and the Twilight was torn down to build a mall, some condos, and some name brand theatre like in the big cities. I was a bit bitter. Tearing town a classic local piece of town history to build the impersonal corporate version in it's place. The officer left me standing there, expecting me to get back to class while he carried on with his duties. I slumped down the lockers, not caring to face all the questioning looks I'm sure awaited me back in that room.

After a couple minutes of me wallowing in my own pathetic self-pity, I heard a click of a door and looked up to see Betty. We instantly made eye contact and she walked up to me, sitting down and holding my hand.

"Whatever it is, it's okay if you don't want to tell me, but if you do then I promise I won't be judgey. I just don't think you should be alone."

I definitely wasn't going to tell her about my living situation, but she was the only person I trusted to tell anything to. I took a deep breath and dived in. That day must have been Confess to Betty day, between the two uncharacteristic events.

"It's my dad, FP. You've never met him and Archie hasn't seen him since we were young. We live on the Southside of town, Betty-"

"And he's a Serpent, right?" She interjected. I gulped, afraid of revealing the shame of my family.

"Yes. But maybe a bit more than that. You see, he's kind of their leader. Apparently he was just busted for setting pot so they're taking him in."

"Oh Juggie, is this why you didn't want us to investigate the Southside?" Her eyes were soft and empathetic, and then she pulled me into a hug, rubbing circles into my back.

"Yes and no. The Serpents aren't bad people. I grew up around them. Community barbecues, kids parties, dances... When mom skipped down and took Jellybean with her, they banded together and gave us like a month of prepared meals to freeze. That doesn't excuse the gang violence, but they stay away from hard drugs. You have to believe me, Betty." I was feeling a bit panicky, again, as overwhelmth washed over me like the tides.

She pressed her forehead against mine. "Of course I believe you, Jug. I trust you. You're my boyfriend... Right?" Her eyes shon with tears unshed, tears for me, but also of hope. I pulled her into a kiss.

"Whatever you want, Betts."

She shimmied into my lap and we stayed like that, not saying a word, until the bell rang and I walked her to her last class of the day.

After school we carpooled with Veronica to get the the hospital to check on Archie. I heard some nurses gossiping about Reggie but I was too mentally fatigued to pay it any mind. It was a long day and we stayed until visiting hours were over instead of continuing the investigation.

Hand in hand, I walked Betty home. She gave me a short kiss at the base of the steps to her home and skipped in and through the doors. This kind of thing didn't scream Jughead Jones, but I guess I was a closet romantic because I was thinking about how I could get used to this.

But with the end of the day comes night, and with night comes darkness. I walked to the trailer to see it covered in police tape and a lock on the door to prevent any potential tampering with evidence. I kicked a rock against the siding in frustration, causing it to fall off. _Just great, now I'm going to have to fix that tomorrow._ Definitely wasn't going to do it today. I just needed to curl into a ball and sleep it all away.

After much deliberating, I narrowed down my choices to my rickety old treehouse that probably wouldn't hold my weight now, a park bench nearby, or just not sleep yet and go check on my father. If I had any money on me, I would have gone to Pop's or even rented a room at the Best Western Plus, formerly known as Golddust Inn, named after a short boom in gold mining there long before the town was founded. A fact that is often swept under the rug because the abandonment and ghost town thing of it all didn't fit our little narrative.

My feet carried me to the station and there was Kevin's dad, Sheriff Keller, talking to the receptionist.

"Excuse me. Jughead Jones. May I see my father?" The lady nodded and pointed down the hall, resuming her conversation with the Sheriff.


	7. Little Eight by Six Room

I walked down the small corridor. There weren't a lot of cells, but there was a contract going on to build a prison just outside of town and prisons were being transferred there, now. He didn't seem to notice me, which was fine because I wasn't really ready to face him.

I just leaned against the wall, staring at this tired downtrodden man with his head in his hands.

"You know, when you're poor you don't have a lot of options. You get judged by the higher ups as if our choices are the same as theirs but they aren't. They wouldn't normally rob a bank but if they had a gun to their head they probably would. Kid, I know you think your old man is a disappointment and maybe I am but I just want you to know that context is everything. I might be transferred over, just so you're prepared. They'll probably make an example of me, make the townspeople feel safer amongst all this chaos, but that won't actually stop it." I guess he did see me, but was just collecting his thoughts.

"Jug, I used my one call to contact your mom but there's nothing she can do right now so I asked Fred Andrews to let you room there for a few days. It's just temporary until we figure something better out. Might see if we can get you emancipated if this drags on for too long."

It actually hit me pretty hard that he used his one phone call to get me a place to stay. He was better than most people gave him credit for, I think. I mean, I had been living at home and at one point I lived at the drivein so he had cleaned up comparatively at that time. I stayed for a bit but eventually he encouraged me to go so I wouldn't be too late getting to Mr Andrew's house.

I didn't make it there, though. The thought of being in Archie's house without Archie in it bothered me. I'd try tomorrow, but tonight it was easier to crash on a park bench by the school. It was cold, even with my thick jacket, and not exactly comfortable though I had long grown accustomed to sleeping in unpleasant ways. The wind snuck into my bones and I would probably get sick but I didn't care. At some point someone tried to rob me in my sleep, but aside from the clothes on my back and my well hidden cellphone, I had nothing of value. He left me with a fairly large abdominal scar, but I patched it up quick. I was just glad it wasn't something more visible like a black eye.

My alarm went off at 5:30 so I could use the washrooms at the abandoned public outdoor pool. I showered off with the shitty soap that was left in the dispensers and used my jacket to dry off. I prayed nobody would notice that I was stuck wearing yesterday's clothes since there was no way for me to access my room and grab a clean pair. Once it was thoroughly looked through, I would definitely put as much as I could into my old hiker's backpack.

The water woke me up and cleaned off the blood from my wound. Too much of this and I would have gotten sick. Being without a home is not usually a choice, but it is not for the faint of heart.

Slowly I made my way to my own jail- Riverdale Secondary. You'd have thought the jocks would be too preoccupied over Archie, Reggie, and the late Jason to bother bullying little ol' Jughead, but I knew better. Even amongst themselves, they could embody numbness like a switch, which is probably why they were heartless cowards with no empathy.

My only reprieve was at lunch when Betty and I snuck off to have lunch alone. Oh, and when they all left because Reggie woke up.

The gossip vine said he woke up disoriented and barely knowing who he was, but that was expected to wear off fairly soon. What was unexpected was the brain damage. Some math and hand-eye coordination were practically non-existent, sealing his fate away from football. There was also a fear that concussions would exacerbate potential problems. He was expected to be back in class next week. We passed him on the way to Archie's room. Fred was there and threw a set of keys at me. I guess my dad really did reach out.

We were leaving and I was going to walk Betty home.

"Can I meet your dad, Juggie? Maybe he knows stuff we don't." I sighed and turned us towards the station. I knew there was nothing that would stop Betty Cooper, so I had decided not to try.

Visiting hours were over but that never mattered since I was family. I stopped dead in my tracks and felt bad that we were about to interrogate the man who found me a home. My dad was a **good guy** , even if he wasn't a _good guy._

"Hey Dad, so this is Betty Cooper, my umm-"

"Girlfriend, I'm his girlfriend." She stepped up from behind me and held my hand, squeezing tightly and looking at like her eyes could giggle.

"Yeah, lets go with that. And Betty, this is my dad, FP Jones." I was never any good at introductions but it seemed to work. His features softened at the sight of her twinkling smile. She reached over with her free hand to shake his.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Jones."

"You can call me FP if you want. Anyone that close to Jug is cool with me. So what did you come here to ask me?"

"I can't just come to visit my dad in his Eight by six compulsory hotel room?"

"I mean you can, but we both know I'm not winning any awards any time soon. So what is it? Come to ask me if I'm involved in bigger things than just a bag of weed? Because if you are, I'll be honest, I'm disappointed. Just because I kept you out of the Serpent stuff doesn't mean we're bad guys."

I couldn't breathe. It hurt me to think he thought I assumed such lows of him probably as much as it did for him to think that himself. "No, dad, but the gang does have ears and I was wondering if you knew anything about anything? Three people from the Bulldogs end up in ICU? That sounds suspicious. I think there's something more at play here and Betty and I intend to expose it. Do you know anything that could help?"

He sighed, loudly at that. "Jug, you two are getting into something you probably shouldn't. This is dangerous. If whoever is doing it sent Archie to the hospital, what's to stop them from doing the same to you? Hell one of those kids is dead."

"Well dad, you can't really stop us. I have a story to write and Betty is headstrong. The more you tell us, the less risk we'll get into looking for the answers." FP ran his hands through his hair.

"Alright. So we get a lot of flack on the Southside, and maybe a bit of it is deserved, but a while back my boy Mustang broke off and started his own gang. They call themselves the Scorpions and they consider us rivals. They try to stay under the radar so we can get the sting if things go bad, like they have, in pretty sure. I can't say for certain that they're behind this, but if any gang is, it's them."


	8. Without Heart There is No Home

It felt weird, trying to have a date at Pop's amongst all the chaos and our own vested interest in it. Kids and adults alike were dropping like flies and here we were, pretending everything was normal. Maybe that's why everyone went so numb, because it was the only feasible way they could think of to cope. That got a lot harder after we finished our milkshakes and left.

That night would be the first night in the Andrews residence without Archie. It made walking Betty home infinitely easier. Without anyone competing for space, I was more or less given Archie's room. There was a bag full of my clothes so I guess Fred stopped by the trailer. I looked over through the window and saw Betty wave at me from her room across the way. It was the only glimmer of happiness in a house that otherwise just felt wrong.

Days passed and we got no clues from Reggie. We hadn't heard a damn thing about this supposed other gang, either. It made me a bit suspicious. Maybe my dad was lying to cover his tracks. What kind of moron would incriminate himself inside a police station? I felt so stupid. I didn't really know what to think and it was incredibly frustrating.

It was a Friday night and I had just gotten back from a frustrating attempt at writing an article about what was happening for the Blue and Gold with Betty and now that she wasn't there to calm me down I could feel myself falling apart. I tried to be quiet and self contained. I imagined putting myself in a small box where I could hide and not bother anyone. I was just going to grab a glass of water and wait the darkness out in the _wrong_ _feeling_ room for the night when I saw him. Fred Andrews was crying with a bottle in one hand and a phone in the other.

"Mary I can't do it. I can't do it, Mary. Forsythe is in jail, Archie is dying in the hospital and you're all the way in damn Chicago! I'm alone, completely alone!" He paused a minute, then scoffed.

"I was wrong. Instead I've got _Jughead_ here sleeping in my own kid's bed since Archie is still in the ICU. That's been even harder. I wake up and hear feet coming down the stairs but it's not him. I did this because I felt bad for my part in his family's situation, but I don't know how long I can hold out. This case doesn't look like it's gonna end any time soon and every day is just another reminder that that screw up's kid is fine and mine isn't."

I clenched my fists, not because I was mad at Mr Andrews, but because I hated how I was always in the way. _Maybe I should just disappear._ I shook my head and silently headed upstairs, gathering my things. I tried to remain calm but I was shaking. I thew them in my bag as hard as I could, trying to rid myself of all the negative emotions.

I toyed with the idea of sneaking into Betty's room and just staying there, but Alice would have welcomed me even less than Fred did that woman terrified me.

There was a bus stop around here with a rickety wooden bus shelter. I figured it was better than being exposed to the elements. Autumn was starting to settle in. I used my old bike lock from days long passed to lock my bag under the bench and I took out a blanket my grandmother had sewn for me when I was a baby. I used my jacket as a pillow and that was how I slept for the night. If I was lucky, this could be my regular spot, but I would have to be careful not to let anyone know. Veronica would judge me, Cheryl would use the information to make my life a living hell, and well I don't want pity from Betty.

I was right about the elements. The wind tilted the rain at such an angle that I still got pretty wet, but I was protected enough not to get soaked during the downpour that happened over night. The sky matched the emotional state of the town. It actually cheered me up, though. I loved rain and I really liked how I managed to stay dry enough to not come down with the flu on this particular night. I shivered at the thought. Betty would probably want to walk me home or something and then I'd be in big trouble.

Now that it was day, I went to grab a bite from Denny's. I felt bad for supporting corporate over Pop's but I didn't have a lot of money at the time. Pop's was probably the only real local business still left standing, and only because it was basically the pillar of our community.

My breakfast tasted gross and the fact that I came here put a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I should have just gotten a muffin from Kweekwegs Coffee, it would have all gone to the same man anyways.

I trashed the remanents of my food, too disgusted to even finish it, and headed over to the library. I was almost surprised Lodge hadn't run that down, too. It was free use, what money was to be made?

I took out a book, Sociology of Crime. It was probably donated by a University kid coming back from state college. If I wasn't going to find anything clues, at least I could stay productive. I smiled. Betty would be proud.

Interesting fact: policing became a thing to protect the ruling class since it was more affordable than hiring a privatized police force. With that in mind, many high issue problems are actually either chosen by said ruling class or came about after people made a stink about it. It made sense. Drug scares, AIDs, the like. Even being gay was a crime for a while. Thank god that changed since my friend Kevin was a gold star and his father was the sheriff. That would have been either awkward or just bad. It made me wonder, though, how this would impact the investigation in both a good and bad way. Would it be a strong motivator, or would something get in the way? That hadn't even interviewed anyone outside the Blossom family yet.

A/N: this chapter is a bit of a filler, but it sets some stuff up for later, you'll see. Also I am angst as f*ck so my Jughead kind of inherited that from me. Apologies. Also hidden reference to Betty and Veronica that came out last year. And the sociology stuff actually comes from a book of the same name.


	9. A Strange Visitor

I got detention for falling asleep in class. Betty was worrying about me a little bit since I clearly wasn't getting enough sleep. She would have worried even more if she knew the truth so I half-lied and said I just wasn't sleeping well. It was technically the truth but there was obviously more to it than that. Fred seemed to play along since Betty went to visit me a few times and he just said I must be out.

 _I was always out._

I had moved three spots since I left his house. On this particular day I decided to check my Facerange. My messages were blown up. A few from Betty, trying to make plans while I was "out" since I had no minutes on my phone and had no way to add more for a while. The other set of messages were from Sabrina.

S: Jughead, it's been a few days since we've talked.

S: Jughead, why aren't you texting back?

S: Jughead?

S: Jughead?!

S: Seriously you better not have OD'd like everyone else in that forsaken town!

S: Answer me dang it!

I felt like a terrible friend. Betty could just see me at school the next day and know I was fine (maybe not great but fine), but Sabrina didn't have that luxury.

J: I'm sorry. Been out of minutes and haven't had time to mess around online. My dad is in jail awaiting trial so there's not a lot of money for that.

The message went from sent to seen and the little bubble elipses animation let me know she was already messaging back.

S: Jughead Jones! Where the heck are you staying in the mean time?!

J: I was at Archie's place for a while but it got weird so just kind of here and there now.

S: Archie still in a coma?

J: Yes

S: K meet me at Riverdale Library at 4 x

She didn't even wait for me to respond, she simply logged off. I was a bit baffled. I had only met Sabrina once, when I was younger and we stopped in Greendale during what used to be an annual 4th of July road trip to find the best fireworks in the state. She had met Archie then too.

Because I had plans, the day went by agonizingly slow. English, Math, Science... I did well but it dragged on forever. At lunch I told Betty I was going to meet up with Sabrina after school and she asked if she could tag along. She brought me lunch so how could I say no? It would probably be awkward since they had never so much as spoken two words to each other. I really hoped they'd get along.

Betty and I walked to the library hand in hand. I found the book from a while ago and handed it to her while I read Truman Capote's _In Cold Blood_.

 **Ahem**.

We looked up at a bleach blonde with a pixie cut and a black headband clearing her throat. "Glad to see you're doing well, Jughead. This must be Betty, I presume?" She stared down at our entangled fingers. "Jeez don't talk to me for like a week and I fall out of the loop. Alright so let's go."

She turned around and left, expecting us to follow. It made me wonder why she chose to meet up at the library at all, but I stashed that thought for later.

If you guessed that we were headed to the hospital, well you were right. Unfortunately we were not allowed to see Archie for about half an hour as the nurse was dealing with him and we would just get in the way. After a few minutes, Betty started to get antsy and offered to grab some snacks from the vending machine down the hall.

"I wasn't going to say this in front of her because I don't know who you've told, but seriously where are you staying?" The question was poised to cut in such a way that she knew it wasn't a house.

"Bus stop on the corner of Midnight and Moon. Sometimes other places. Don't tell her, I don't want pity."

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "Jug, we want to help, not feel bad for you. Look, if you want you can move in with my Aunts and me. We have a basement suite so you'd have your own space."

It sounded like a good deal. I'd be out of the way and nobody would have to feel sorry for me. I was nodding my head when I glanced over and saw an angel with a couple bags of chips, some gummy worms, and a tray with coffee. I couldn't move, and the butterflies in my stomach were getting violent like wasps. This beautiful lady called herself mine. I couldn't throw that all away. I gulped.

"I'm sorry Sabrina but I can't leave this town behind."

She lightly laughed.

"You mean you can't leave _her_ behind, but whatever. I don't know how Harvey would react to having a boy in the house that isn't a cat anyways." She was giving me an out, and I knew it because she would never let her boyfriend Harvey Kinkle tell her what to do. She also once told me in confidence that her cat was secretly a- what was it? Wizard? Lizard? Something weird. He should probably be worried about that cat or her mental health, not me.

"I don't know how you take your coffee but they had a dispenser by the vending machine. I brought some creamers and sugars..." Betty held out a black coffee and Spellman took it with a smile.

"Jug and I both take our coffee black." _Well didn't that sound needlessly antagonistic._ I grabbed the tray with our coffees so Betty could take a seat beside me on the bench. She leaned on me and I tucked her head under my chin. Sabrina smiled at us.

"Alright, you may now see Archibald Andrews," announced a nurse.

Betty and I walked into his room, hand in hand, with Sabrina at our heels.

"Jeez Jughead, I know you filled out by why didn't you tell me about Archie?! He actually looks like a football player now!" Everything went quiet for a second. "Oh right. Inappropriately timed."

He looked healthier but a bit thinner than when we last saw him. His muscle mass would probably suffer for this but he would preserver when he woke up. The doctors said the longer it takes for him to wake up the less likely it is that he will. It put knots in my stomach.

His hair had grown a bit too, so his bangs covered his eyes. A few tears fell from Betty's eyes as she generally swept his hair away from his face. I walked up to her and rubbed circles into her back while pressing butterfly kisses on the top of her head.

"She looks like she could use a moment. I'll keep an eye on Archie, just go calm down." Sabrina waved us away and I led my whimpering girlfriend from the room.

Not even a minute later and we heard groaning and Spellman ran out of the room.

"Come back! He's awake!"

We ran back in after her and sitting up in his bed was none other than Archie Andrews.

"Oh my god, somebody needs to call Fred!"Betty yelled. I guess she quickly decided that "somebody" would be herself as she quickly left the room again.

"Archie, do you know who drugged you?"


	10. Fire & Desire

"Archie, do you know who drugged you?"

"I honestly can't remember anything. Like I feel like I know that I've been in a coma for a while and that I must have performed my act but it's all a blur. I can see bits and pieces. Meeting Mr and Mrs Lodge on their way out of the restaurant we were going into. A server trying to flirt with me, probably in hopes of getting a higher tip, I think I ordered a steak but I don't remember eating it. Like that. I don't remember being forcefully given a drug but there are spots and holes so it could have been. I really just don't know."

 _Well that was useless_. Betty came back as she put her phone back in her pocket.

"Fred is on his way. How long do you think before you get discharged, Arch?" she asked.

He looked thoughtful, but I didn't really expect he would know so I stepped in.

"From the looks of things he's doing really well but they'll probably want to run a few tests and keep him on observation over night just in case." Shortly after a staff of nurses and doctors arrives, rushing us out of the room.

In the chaos, I grabbed Sabrina's arm and whispered a "thank you" in her ear before we all took off. I wasn't sure what I was thanking her for and she sent me a panicked look but she was there when my blood brother woke up and that was important to me.

As we walked out the doors, a flood of people rushed in. They were covered in burn marks and ashes. I looked over at Betty who was already looking up at me as if to ask _investigate?_ I nodded in return and we hung around long enough to hear about a fire at Blossom Maple Syrup Factory.

We jaunted over to Betty's and grabbed her car so as to drive to the scene and have a quick escape if things got bad.

Upon arrival, we saw Clifford Blossom standing in all that remained of his primary business. He looked as stoic as always; he was a hard man to read. He didn't seem to be looking for answers, which was a bit suspicious. Betty and I stayed hidden and watched. He soon got a call from insurance claims to set the wheels in motion to recuperate from the loss.

With all the crime in town, I couldn't help but wonder if it was arson. It was daylight and there were so many people inside. If someone was going for a lot of damage, this was it. I was sure by the end of the day we would hear how bad the injuries were and if there were any casualties. For now all we had was scorched maple syrup on the earth.

There was nothing else to learn so we quietly snuck back to the car and took off to Pop's. He looked frustrated as we opened the door.

"What's going on, Pop?" Betty looked concerned.

"It's just Hiram Lodge. He's breathing down my neck to sell and put up some crappy chain store. We already have that dumb coffee shop and a Denny's and every fast food chain known to man. I might entertain Johnny Rockets, but that's about it."

"Don't do it, Pop's. Your burgers are the best. I don't want any crappy imitation. You have class and character in here that can't be replicated. Plus their food tastes like crap."

"Plus you're a staple of the community! Jughead already lost the drivein. Don't let that happen here, too! Please!" Betty pleaded and pulled out the puppy dog eyes. He sighed.

"I didn't want to sell anyways. This town is disappearing and if I don't prevent it, all that will be left will simply be on display in a museum if we're lucky. Thanks for the vote of confidence, kids. Milkshakes on the house."

We sat down at our usual table, relieved that at least one thing wasn't going anywhere. This was our place, the town's place, and I would go down swinging to defend it.

"So Sabrina." Betty addressed the elephant in the room.

"Sorry she was so... Blunt. She's probably just mad because you see me every day and I forgot to go online for a week."

"Maybe. Are you sure she doesn't just like you or something? And you said something to her on our way out earlier... What was it?" _Crap, this is what I was afraid would happen._

"Look Betty, we're really close, but it's not like that. Don't be upset."

"Did you really just say that? I just wanted some comfort because she makes me nervous but if you're going to be like this then she can just have you." She got up to leave but I grabbed her hand.

"I was thanking her for being there with him when he woke up. Things have been bad lately and he drives me crazy but he's my brother. And she... Have you ever seen Star Wars? She's the Leia to my Luke. She's like a sister, one that I can talk instead of protecting all the time."

She didn't turn around. "And am I like a sister, too?" Her voice was shakey.

I spun her into my arms, our faces mere inches apart. "Maybe sister-in-law to Jellybean, but you're like a lover to me." My hormones were on overload and I felt warm. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Push her against the table. Understand the intricacies of her face. But I was frozen. Her breath fanned over me and her eyes were half lidded. It was driving me insane.

Finally I snapped out of it and I pushed her right out of the restaurant to behind the building where I kissed her senseless until we were both bruised, panting, and tired.

A/N: I had this chapter mapped out before the horrors of that fire in London. It may be poorly timed, but that's the tragic curse of my art. I did a project on a tsunami the day before that one in Japan back in 2011 so this happens to be a lot to me. Sorry it's all over the place. It's kind of 3 disjointed things and it might and worked better in third. Person but I've already committed.


	11. Textbook Case of Addiction

Have you ever played monopoly? The game that destroys friendships and causes rifts in families? Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but tension was bottlenecking. Hiram Lodge had Boardwalk and Cliff Blossom had Park Place. Cliff was less than happy to come in second and both wanted the monopoly of the game-ending spot. Put up a hotel there and it's basically instant game over for anyone else who might land there. That's actually pretty messed up for a game designed to be played with children.

The point? I think Mr Lodge felt threatened by Mr Blossom. Who else would burn down his business? They discovered it was an electrical problem and Clifford was paid out handsomely, similarly to when Jason died (when you're that rich, I guess everyone gets life insurance), though my gut said somebody must have tampered with it. Nothing is how it seems in this town, not even me, so why should this have been any different?

I was trying to think of how I could investigate my theory further in first period when Archie walked in and sat beside me. He did not look good.

"Blahhhh I feel like death, Jughead. This is worse than that time I first discovered dad's alcohol stash." _Ah yes, a night to remember for sure. You can't make me touch the stuff but Barfie here must have thrown up a week's worth of food during that hangover._

"I remember that, and yeah you look like a zombie. Afterlife with Archie Andrews anyone?" I teased.

"What, is that the name of your zombie friend-fiction? You know that's weird, right?" He laughed at me and lightly punched my shoulder. It was good to have my friend back.

"I wear the word _weird_ like a badge of honor. You chose the wrong insult."

Archie was a bit more aggressive than normal and he was getting frustrated with his inability to keep up with the classwork not only as someone who was a week or so behind but just in general.

At lunch we all sat together but things were different, like the atmosphere or something. Archie held Veronica's hand and I rubbed circles into Betty's.

"Did something happen when I was gone?" Archie blurted abruptly. Betty blushed and looked down at her cafeteria tray.

"Betty and I..." _God how do I finish this sentence in a way that is considerate from all sides?_

"Juggie and I found comfort in each other during this hard time and it's just sort of blossomed from there."

I pulled her shoulders so the front end of her body would be against my chest and held her, kissing the top of her head. Subtility was gone anyways and I was thankful that she could word it so eloquently. It was a lot better than the fact that we made out right outside the hospital while our mutual friend was in a coma.

Our moment was broken by V. "Aren't they so cute together?" She held her hands together in glee, though I wasn't entirely sure it was because we were _cute_ as opposed to Betty no longer competing with her for Archie's affections.

"Eh, I mean I was kind of prepared for this. I knew it had to happen eventually." Arch took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Wait _what?_ " How did Archibald "Dense" Andrews see this coming?

"Well Betty is the only women in Jughead's world that isn't by blood but by choice, no offence Ronnie. It was just a matter of time until she became emotionally ready for him. I dunno, it's kind of a cliché, seemingly good girl ends up with the blooding bad boy with the secret heart of gold or something?" He took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Well, Betty, we had a good run but Archie said we're a walking cliché." I slowly removed my arms from her and winked.

"Oh yeah, we were on borrowed time anyways. Strictly an _opposites attract_ trope. Nothing to see here, definitely no bonding over real things like oh I don't know, your bff and blood brother being in a coma in a ridiculously dangerous small town. It was nice and I'll forever treasure our time together, Jughead Jones. Let's stay friends?" She threw me a teasing smile and I loved her to bits for playing along.

"Nah, I'd just want more anyways." I leaned in and kissed her before we both excused ourselves to go somewhere a bit more private. I wasn't overly into public displays of affection.

She raced me to a tree and I smirked at her childish antics. She won and sat at the base of it, smiling up at me. I got down on my knees with her legs in between mine. I still towered over her, giving me a wonderful view of her face, red from jogging.

"God you're beautiful, Betts." I breathed but my voice sounded deep. I swear I could hear her heart flutter. I leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't dark and primal, it was sweet and I tried to put all my feelings into it, let her know this was real and not just hormones running wild or a cheesy stereotype. She smiled into the kiss and I think she got the message.

I was resting my forehead against hers, our eyes closed in sync with each other when the bell rang signalling the return to class. I threw my arm over her shoulder and we walked to class like nothing else mattered.

Bliss did not last long, however. Once class ended, Archie called out to me. Apparently he was feeling really sick and didn't want Veronica to see him like that. Guess that's not _attractive._ Whatever, Betty and I didn't have any plans on this particular night and I always thought there should be more male nurses in the world.

I was wondering if maybe we should have gone back to the hospital. He had really bad chills and his whole body ached with cramps and pain. It was so bad his hair stood on end like when you're scared.

In my panic, I called Betty over. She took out her phone and googled it. It took a while for her to sift through the _it's cancer_ and _you're pregnant_ (lol) but she finally found what she was looking for.

"They might have something to help ease his symptoms at the hospital but these are all withdrawal symptoms for fentanyl. The effects must not have kicked in until you woke up and somebody must have given you something to be manageable up till now. Looks like it's going to stay intense for a bit and then slowly go away over the next couple weeks."

"Weeks?! But I can't! I've missed so much already! Dammit!" Archie hit his fist against the wall and then howled in pain. "This is too intense and I feel like I'm craving something and I don't even know what it is but I have an itch for it and it's killing me."

"We really need to figure out whose distributing the drugs here. This is too much. Too many people have died or ended up hospitalized." I clenched my hands in frustration as I spoke.

"Plus once we solve this mystery it should exonerate your dad." Betty lightly touched my shoulder.

"Exonerate? What happened to FP?"


	12. This Ain't a Scene It's an Arms-race

We ended up at the hospital, but all they did was write us an emergency prescription and send us on our way. There was nothing he could do but wait it out and hope his symptoms levelled out sooner rather than later.

I was glad he wasn't hospitalized but the wait was an agonizing 4 hours since there were nowhere near enough staff for our tiny hospital. It wasn't exactly a priority in the world, though you could pay good money for top care. We were all going stir crazy. I never liked hospitals. Part of the reason I remained in poverty as a kid was because my mother had complications during my sister's birth. I remembered thinking she was going to die, but the doctors pulled through for her, and we accrued a massive debt. Both of those reasons made me dislike hospitals, something I overlooked when Srchie was in a coma but this felt too voluntary. I was itching to leave. And I did. I had to go out for air like three times.

In the middle of it all Kevin texted us saying that there was a growing number of complaints about gun usage in relation to the uptick in local crime. He said that his dad was setting it up so all the police could go door to door and ask if everyone's gun registration is up to date. This made me almost relieved that my father was already in jail so he wouldn't get the third degree on this.

Apparently it all started when a bunch of kids were loitering around town with guns hiddeb in them but no concealled carry permits. Sheriff Keller had a hunch that someone was smuggling guns into town and selling them on the black market. For once I actually agreed with him. Unfortunately, nobody knew who was selling them.

I was getting more and more nervous over the following days, escorting Betty too and from school. It was a good thing I was once again staying with the Andrews as I was certain sleeping outside at bought was no longer a safe activity. It made me feel upset for the rest of the people I had come across in our growing homeless network. It's not like they chose to not have a bed to sleep in. Some of them died from the weather but I'm sure others got killed. Most of it wasn't recorded in the obits or even the police files. Like an erase smudge, with no real proof that they existed, but they did.

Cheryl started hanging around Archie and Veronica a lot more, for reasons unknown. The whole family had been acting weird and I had meant to ask if they thought a pyro had burned their business to the ground, but I was honestly as terrified of the Blossoms as I was Alice Cooper. At least I had a good reason to face her, but the Blossoms were rich enough that they could get away with murder.

I staked him out a few times, just to see if maybe the firestarter would show up. He never did, but on my third watch, he seemed more angry than usual. Cliff was not an overly cheerful guy, but he came from a long line of people who believed in acting cold and callous. This was odd, even for him. He was holding something and I tried to be sneaky as I went for a closer look but he heard something. My heart stopped. I told Betty I was doing homework so she couldn't come with, in case things got dangerous, but if something happened to me nobody would know where to look. Couldn't even use the GPS on my out-of-minutes phone.

My luck changed, however, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Mr Blossom had to take a phone call. The bag slipped from his hand a bit and I snapped a picture before booking it as fast as I could back to the Andrews residence.

I locked myself in the garage with Vegas, my unofficial home away from home, and opened up my picture app. My instincts an intuition must have been on the ball because there in that baggie was a large pile of grey pills.

Fentanyl. _The Blossoms were rich enough that they could get away with murder._

It was all coming together. A popular jock like Jason, unsuspecting Jason, probably didn't want anything to do with the business, but was pushed due to comptetition from Lodge Industried. Clifford, unable to take the betrayal of his flesh and blood's rejection fed him the pills until he died. Everyone else was doing it, so he didn't think it would be that big of a deal. As an added bonus, he was awarded a handsome sum from the insurance payout. It also explained why Cheryl seemed to be avoiding home. Even if she didn't know what happened, she must have felt that something was off.

It was like a light went off. I threw on a sweater and climbed Betty's window.

"Cliff is in charge of the drugs in town." I said, out of breath, once I entered her room.

"Then why would she want to hurt Archie? Or Reggie?" She looked a bit disgusted, and confused. "What kind of parent would do that to their child?"

I gave Betty a look that seemed to say _really???_ as I gestured to the empty bottle of prescription medication on her desk. Jason wasn't the only child needlessly drugged his his own parent.

"So what now? We go in guns blazing and take him down?"

I laughed, perhaps a bit more bitterly than I meant to. "That's too dangerous. We could get killed. We have to be careful, which is why we will have to be delicate when we tell Archie- IF we tell Archie. His hero complex might be stronger than our common sense." I pulled at my hair in frustration. "I just don't even know what to do or where to start."

"Well, we can start with an interview for the paper. It's not the Registrar so he's probably be open to it. See what answers we can dig up." I was looking at the ground, not liking the sound of that.

She pulled my face up to look that hers. "Hey, you did good. Maybe don't put yourself in danger next time, though. I like having you around." She lightly kissed me and sent me on my way, to spiral into insanity as I thought of all the ways her plan could go wrong instead of sleeping like I was supposed to.


	13. Front Page Mystery

Fred Andrews slapped the newspaper down on the table while Archie drank orange juice and I ate a bag of eggo waffles freshly popped.

 **Man found shot in head, drugs in system**

"Look, boys, there's no too much of this going on lately so until further notice I'd like to institute a curfew. It's not that I don't trust you guys, it's just the city. It's gone dark, or maybe it's just always been that way but it's gotten worse to the point where it's bubbling over. Just watch out for each other, okay? And Betty, too. With her sister still in rehab, she doesn't have anyone but you guys to watch her back."

"Don't worry, Jug has been looking after Betty since Jason passed." Archie said off hand as he took his new prescription medication.

"So that's why she was popping by so often. Jughead over here was stepping out a lot, though, so I think Little Cooper was getting a bit annoyed at me."

It was nice having a normal conversation. Everyone was talking about what's been happening and yet nobody was. It was casual conversation, _did you hear Jimmy died?_ not big news, just an accepted part of life. The darkness created into this town like a disease, and I was so anxious it would be chronic.

We accepted this illness when things got small but we just ignored them. Denial let it fester and grow, instead of facing it head on. It was only human nature, though, to burry our heads in the sand and pray to the powers that he That it will all just blow over like the flu, but even a mild for of the flu still kills people.

I thought back to what I had recently discovered and wondered how much of the wound that scarred Riverdale was Clifford's fault. Did his drug dealer step out of line? Maybe a competitor didn't take kindly to fighting over drug turf? There were too many options. One question answered, a thousand more popped up.

I was willing to submit to a curfew out of respect for Mr Andrews, but the more dangerous thing by far was our investigation. It was becoming clear that we were over our heads, but we kept stumbling on clues. I decided to call Betty to arrange for the Blue and Gold to interview the Blossoms. Maybe some information would slip about how Clifford Blossom obviously killed his own son.

Yeah, I was going to be there taking notes, but I was not subtle enough for this job. Betty was going to have to go in, something she made very clear the moment I brought the idea to her.

We took her car and a bunch of empty notebooks. We figured something might be a give away if we brought old stuff. Betty called ahead so the gates would be open to us. She said it had been difficult to secure the interview since the family had very little interest in the media right now, something that furthered my suspicions, but Betty Cooper is not one to give up, if ever.

We were escorted from the foyer to the lounge area. Their fireplace crackled maliciously in the background and I felt my chest constrict in anxiety over this horrible plan. _This is a drug lord, what are we doing??_ I was breaking out into a cold sweat and was blacking out, which was not good for my note taking.

At one point, Mrs Blossom glanced down at my notes while she casually leaned against the wall with a wine glass of something I probably couldn't even pronounce. I meant, unless it was pronounced _pretentious_. She smeared.

"What are you writing?" Her voice dropped with hostility. Apparently I had mindlessly started writing suspect over and over again. I gulped, feeling like this was it, I was going to be murdered, but my stupid quick mouth ran to my "rescue".

"Sorry, I was thinking about how it's weird that you weren't invested in Jason's murder."

"Weren't investigated?! Who told you that, young man!" Penelope screeched at me. I looked down at the floor, awkwardly.

"For goodness sake, you're low brow, how have you not noticed this on even just tv? This is absurd, the family is always suspect number one."

"Yeah, because it usually is," I couldn't stop talking, even though I knew it was stuff I shouldn't say.

"We were the first questioned and investigated. In cases like this, it's almost always the family or domestic partner. **_Almost_**. We were cleared quickly because we had verifiable alibis. Honestly, I would have killed for that boy and I will make sure whoever did this to him pays for it dearly until he wishes he were dead. If you think I killed my own son, you're insane. At least the police had a good reason, just to get it out of the way since it was practically protocol." He had a dark look in his eyes, Clifford Blossom, and everything in me told me to run, but I wouldn't because Betty was still there right beside him.

"You know what? Print you interview, or don't, but leave our house. And beware, we have a lawyer who is experienced with defamation trials." Penelope snarled at us.

I got up and walked over to Betty as quickly as I could. Once I had her hand wrapped in mine and we were out of the room, we sprinted as fast as we could out of there.

"I'm sorry I ruined this Betty." I couldn't meet her gaze. She put her hand on my cheek and pushed my face up.

"Don't be, and besides, I'm pretty sure we have all we need from them."

xxxxx

"Do you think they know?"

"Goodness no. They think it's only drugs. If they were seriously into us, I wouldn't have let them walk out."


	14. Coded Words like Thug

It was getting late by the time we got home. The car ride was silent, but all I wanted to do was pick Betty's brain to find out what she meant about getting all that she needed. Once we pulled over into her driveway, she turned to me.

"It's not what you think, Juggie. They didn't kill Jason."

"But how do you know that? Maybe you're letting your inability to see the bad in people get in the way of this investigation!"

She clenched her hands shut and sent me a glare so dark that I instantly though _it looks could kill_. She got out of the car and left to her house. I sat there, shocked at her, but also at me. I did not feel like myself lately. This town had changed and maybe I had too. Just another thing to be anxious about, I guess.

She asked Archie to tell me not to walk her to school the next day. I made him take her since what Fred had said yesterday really stuck with me. Perhaps it was the reason I was so on edge. Of course, with the two of them walking together, I had to walk by myself. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make to keep her safe.

I was walking past a park halfway between our houses and the school. I had slept on a bench near here once in desperation, but it was generally too close to town and too many people would see me. Suddenly, a man with untamed hair came up to me. He wore fingerless gloves and smelled like asphalt. Everything in me told me to walk faster but he was already right there.

"Do you wanna buy any trees? I'll cut you a deal." His eyes were wild.

"No thanks, there are enough trees around here."

"Dammit kid, I'm talking drugs! Molly, MDMA... Fentanyl." He held out pills, just like the ones Blossom had. My eyes went wide and I took a step back. _Is he going to drug me? Is this how it happened to everyone else? Is this payback for me asking too many questions? Did Cliff Blossom put a hit on me?_ I started to hyperventilate which freaked the guy out. My palms were clammy and I was shaking like a leaf when it happened.

He pulled a gun on me.

"You stop it man!" he yelled, but as anyone whose ever experienced any form of anxiety attack will tell you, that has _never_ stopped one, not even once. If anything, I started to shake more.

When it's close up, it doesn't sound like it does on tv. It almost sounds more like an explosion. It hit my shoulder and the world went black.

I woke up to a light beeping sound. I was in the hospital _again_ but this time I was the one in the bed. My whole body ached but the pain radiated from the bullet wound. It was like a pulsing point. I pushed myself off the bed to see Archie and Reggie right in front of me. Betty was biting her lip by the door; she probably didn't want to be near me because of what I had said. At this point, I wasn't even sure if I regretted it or not. I still fully believed it, if not more so.

"Did he drug me?" I suddenly realized I was dehydrated as my throats was hoarse and my voice sounded nothing like me.

"No, after he shot you he just ran off, according to a witness. There was nothing found in your system." Archie was being surprisingly calm and logical. I started to wonder if I was maybe just dream all this up from a coma- maybe I was the first drug victim and all this is just a figment of my imagination. It's that or maybe I was insane. The thoughts didn't last long as the pain medication was holding back a lot of the sensations I felt. I groaned.

"Betty asked me to bring Reggie here. He remembers something that might help with the investigation," Archie scratched the back of his neck nervously. It would have to be pretty important to get Reggie Mantle to associate with me in any way that wasn't a beat down.

"I heard you're looking for whoever has been drugging all of us. I'm willing to call a temporary truce, Donnie Darko, if that means bringing this guy down." I rolled my eyes at the nickname.

"Alright Frank, do you remember anything yet?"

"Things are more clean now. I remember football practice. I remember Jason getting into a lot of trouble before he died. I remember Ally OD'ing but it never made the papers so I never would have know if she wasn't my partner in chem. I also remember talking to Mr Lodge."

"I don't think any of that has been helpful at all. We all know Clifford Blossom did it. I spooked him yesterday, which is why he sent someone after me."

"You're being a bit paranoid, don't you think? Maybe your hatred of the Blossoms _is clouding your judgment_?" Reggie had a toothy grin and had that look in his eye like he knew something he wasn't supposed to. That something was clearly that Betty had vented to him about our falling out.

Visiting hours were over but nobody had come to kick my entourage out. It made me curious, but I heard the pattering of feet outside going every which way. An alarm went off and a computerized voice alerted us all that there was a person spotted with a gun within the vicinity and to remain calm. The voice was eerie and contributes to the exact opposite of what it tried to do. It instructed us all to stay in our rooms and not to roam the halls, but people were doing that anyways.

Twenty minutes past and a gunshot rang throughout the ground floor.

Minutes later the alarms and computer voices stopped. People were getting desperate, too desperate for the hospital and police force to keep up with, but we had just hit a knew low. The pharmacy assistant in the pharmacy built into the hospital was shot dead over prescription medication. Perhaps whoever did it couldn't afford to pay their medical expenses, or maybe they were just a junkie getting a fix. In this town, it was no longer possible to know by guessing. We were never told if the person was apprehended or not.


	15. Tipping Point

Things were different now, yet even more of the same. At things escalated, everything continued to go on as normal but it was like we were all walking on egg shells. People treated me different, like I was made of glass, since the incident. Even if I was, I would much rather be treated like a human being than some delicate child.

Things had become strained with Betty. She seemed distant, almost. I was starting to think she resented me for believing it was the Blossoms. I felt strongly about my opinion, and she disagreed. I think at this point she stayed out of obligation. Somebody had to take care of me properly, something the Andrews weren't exactly known for.

On this day, I was being discharged from the hospital where this all began. All the lost souls, the beginning of my now-doomed relationship, all the drug overdoses and recoveries. It was my turn to get out of the bed but her eyes were less warm and I reached out to her.

"Walk with me." I didn't mean to sound so desperate, but how could I not be. You could probably _see_ the fear in my eyes. I was losing her; it was like I was losing everything. She curtly nodded and we stepped outside the building. She weaved her arm through mine so I could walk straight, but she refused to make eye contact.

We wandered down the empty streets. Nobody was here because it was no longer safe. Curtains were closed, doors were locked... It felt like a ghost town and all that was missing was some wind and a tumbleweed. I stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, causing Betty's arm to jerk at the sudden lack of momentum.

"Are you going to break up with me because I think Clifford is guilty?" It came out flat. Not venomous, nor vulnerable and emotional, just flat.

"No, it's because you wouldn't listen to me. I _know_ he didn't do it and you don't even believe me. How can we make this work if you don't trust me?" It felt like someone shoved a dagger into my heart and twisted it. A barbed dagger, so even if you tried to yank it out you would just get hurt worse.

"You didn't trust me, either."

She turned and looked at me. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You didn't trust me when I said he was guilty, and you supplied no evidence to really prove me wrong." I swallowed dryly, knowing I was picking a fight but I felt like I had to say it. Had to prove I wasn't wrong or at least that she was wrong, too. While it would probably just piss her off, it was also my chance for even ground. She couldn't hold it above me as a reason to break up. God did I ever not want to break up.

"It wasn't my business to share... But I have a good reason for knowing it wasn't him." She held out her palm and released her fingers to reveal at stopwatch. "He might not have been a good person, but he was a great father. You forget that I knew Jason. Polly thought they would get married and have children one day, something I rolled my eyes at at the time considering she did drugs. She always said Jason would be an amazing father and that Clifford gave him this watch to give to his own children one day. It's a family heirloom and he didn't collect it from my house even though he knew Polly had it. He wanted her to keep it, out of respect for Jason."

I felt like such an idiot. The Blossoms were practically family to Betty's, even though there was a longstanding family feud before the two started dating. I ran my fingers through my hair; I was frustrated with myself.

"So maybe I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt, but at least I had a good reason. You stopped using your brain and stopped being skeptical. You found a theory you liked and stuck with it. That was more important to you then me. Being right was more important to you. Do you know how frustrating that is, when it's from someone whose supposed to care about you?"

I pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "You have a right to be mad, I was an idiot, but don't for a second think that just because I was being stubborn meant being right was more important than you. Nothing is more important than you. Not even my dumb ego. I'm so sorry, Betty, I am. I'm sorry I was a dick about it and didn't talk about it. I thought if I pushed harder, you'd realize you were wrong, and stop being mad at me. I feel like such a fool." I separated enough to look her in the eye, my finger under her chin so she was looking me straight in the eyes. "Don't forgive me, but at least know I'm sincerely sorry."

She pulled me back in for another hug.

"I don't want to be mad and I don't want to break up. I know this was important to you, and we'll figure it out. I know the truth is disappointing."

I rubbed circles into her back as we just stood there in the middle of a deserted road. We were there for a few minutes when we were jolted apart by a loud sound. A few blocks over was a loud muffled sound of gunshot.

Suddenly I remembered how dangerous it was to walk around and we ran as quick as we could back to Archie's house. Nobody walked anymore except us, and maybe we should have stopped too.

We came in to a crying Archie. Apparently he got into a fight with Veronica because her dad was not overly fond of our ginger friend. He couldn't get more than three words out at a time so I don't know what happened, but it seemed bad. Fathers didn't usually like the guys their daughters dated but you couldn't do much better than the oblivious but loveable football star slash musician known as Archie Andrews.

A/N: forgot to write this on my other fic but sorry for the long wait. It's been a chaotic week and a half for me since a bunch of us cities here in BC were evacuated. At first we were actually camping with a bunch of cats so it didn't give me a lot of time, internet, or ability to write. Anyways hoping to catch up now since I'm at a relative's place and even have my own bedroom. A bit hard with all these people around me 24/7 since there's no work, but I'm doing the best I can considering the circumstances.


	16. Marx Thought We Could Do Better I

People often feel hopeless and give up. Even without capitalism pushing the lower classes deep into the ground, we live in a real world not a fantasy. There are no magic styles of government that could be smart, humane, and efficient. If you helped everyone, you'd have a lot of debt. If you were careful with your money then people would starve. People would never agree with what to do with the money anyways and in no way will everyone be happy with the governing body. Maybe I'm just jaded. That being said, anything was better than this.

There were less people on the streets but much more people in the ground. Apparently a deadly addictive drug was the solution to the ever growing homelessness problem- who knew. This would actually create unforseeable consequences in the days to come as the town copes with the loss and takes a large financial hit. Those fancy TVs could no longer be bought by the middle class who were struggling to pay hospital bills and funeral expenses. A backfire on this plan of addiction. Literally drain the money out of the people until they die... But a dead customer doesn't tend to continue buying. That's what always bothered me about the Big Pharma argument. The profitability doesn't work long-term if they're killing their patrons.

Speaking of pharma and returning back to overdoses, or more specifically drugs, it would appear a new dealer is in town as a whole new market has been opened and people from previously safe walks of life have began dropping like flies too.

I wanted to find out who but first I felt it was time I reviewed Jason's toxicology report.

3 days.

He had been taking fentanyl for 3 days. It became apparent to me that he has gained a dependency and had become desperate causing him to ingest as much as he could all at once to relieve the feelings and that's what killed him. I still felt in my gut that it was planned. But if not by Clifford, then who?

"Do you think Jason knew?"

Betty looked at me like she wasn't sure what I was asking. "Knew what?"

"Knew who the dealer was, the one that killed him."

She hummed as she rested her hand under her chin, taking a minute to think before answering."If it's a murder like we think, then probably. Murderers tend to like having their victims know it is them. It's not like it hurts them if the victim knows since they'll be dead. I'm confident he knew, and whoever did it probably did it directly with the last handful of drugs." We sat there thinking before she had another sudden thought.

"Do you think Reggie knew?"

 _Shit. He knew it wasn't Clifford_. She must have read my face because we wordlessly headed to the door. I noted in passing how empty the streets were but we felt like we were in a hurry. Whoever did this to Reggie would probably be back to finish the job.

We knocked on his door and he ushered us in. "I knew once Betty got you to see reason that you'd be back, Black Parade. Want a beer? Soda?" He opened the fridge, reaching to the far back.

"Just water for us thanks," Betty answered. He grabbed out a can for himself and two glasses from the nearby cabinet. They sat on some couches, with Reggie nervously twiddling his fingers.

"So you know it's not Blossom, we have that established. What did you want to ask me?"

Betty, being the diplomat, decided to answer. "Well, usually in a murder, the victim knows who did it. I know it was fuzzy at first, but the details are coming back, right? Do you remember who did it?" His back straightened and his whole body seemed to tense.

"I might, but I'm not confident so I don't wanna talk about it. All I can say is ask Polly. Now that she's detoxed, she might not be too strung out to know what's going on."

Betty hesitated. "What does Polly have to do with this?"

"Well she was trying to push drugs on him. I'm sure whoever was supplying them to her convinced her to do it. Polly is generally a sweet girl, she can just be a bit dumb and easy to take advantage of."

"Well thank you for your information, Mantel," Betty gritted through her teeth. Polly was actually starting to be allowed phone calls now so once we were securely tucked away in her bedroom with the windows closed and the doors locked, we made the call.

It rang more than usual before a receptionist picked up. He paged Miss Cooper to the office and before they knew it, Betty was crying happy tears as she talked to her sister.

It was endearing to watch, and she deserved it. She did most of the hard work today, so she earned a good conversation before her journalistic instincted in and she asked Polly if she was pressured to get Jason on drugs.

"Who told you." Her voice was loud and shakey.

"Reggie Mantal. We think whoever asked you to do that was the same one who killed Jason and the one who hospitalized Archie and Reggie."

"That little traitor... Wait, hospitalize Archie and Reggie?"

"They were drugged and almost died. It's a miracle Archie even came out of his coma."

The line went silent.

"You don't know why I'm in here." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "I'm safer here. There are closer clinics, and I have done drugs so it is helpful, but the further away I am the more safe I am. I was at a party at this club where I was approached. It looked like candy so I took it but it turned out to be ecstasy I guess. He became my dealer, but it was clear that he didn't usually interact directly with clients. I think he just did it to get closer to Jason."

"Who was in, Polly?" I asked, getting anxious about how long she was taking.

"Oh, isn't it obvious? He's why I'm in hiding anyways. It's h-" the line went dead and we heard the dial tone.

A/N: One chapter left, then maybe an epilogue. Sorry for the delay. Been extremely busy but had a couple hours to finish this chapter so here it is.


	17. Marx Thought We Could Do Better II

Money talks. That's what they say. Even in our justice system, excuding biased juries and bought off judges, money can buy you a smooth talking lawyer with a good reputation. The right lawyer had gotten people sued for being the victim of a car accident. Hell, even when high profile rich people do get convicted, nine times out of ten they just get a slap on the wrist. Let's see a pro bono working for the underprivileged manage to pull that off. But I digress.

Anyways, Betty was pacing back and forth like she was trying to make a trail on the floor. _Who was Polly talking about? Why did the line cut off? Is Polly in more danger then she thinks she is? Is she even still alive?_ I couldn't read minds but the look on her face gave it away. She was worried. I reached out and grabbed her hand, effectively ending her walking in circles.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you not to be upset or worried about your sister. We all know I'd be the same if it were Jellybean instead of Polly, but you gotta give credit where it's due and Poll has been taking good care of herself and has been aware of the dangers for a long time. It's highly unlikely anything bad has happened to her. We can even call back. Maybe that will make you feel better." She didn't make eye contact but she nodded at me. With shaky hands, she once again reached for the phone.

The nurse must have said something wrong because Betty's pupils undialated and she started tapping her fingers.

Before I knew it, I was grabbing the phone straight from her hand.

"Look, there are some crazy things going on here so we really just need to hear her voice and verify that she's okay. Can you just do that?"

I heard a sigh, followed by a "you get one minute."

Soon Polly was back on again, but she seemed to know the limit and the urgency because all she uttered was "Hiram Lodge", then she hung up.

Hiram. Lodge. I felt like smacking my head off a desk. Direct competition with the Blossoms. If he could get a dependency, Jason could be like a trained dog willing to do anything for that high "treat". Perhaps it wasn't a murder after all... Jason could be more useful alive as in insider then dead... Unless he expected the grieving process to throw Clifford off his game.

Betty turned toward me. "We need to go to the police, and make sure Polly gets extra protection. Phone lines cutting out? That makes me nervous." She stole the keys off the side table in the kitchen and we climbed into Alice's car.

Within an hour, we managed to compliment enough evidence and go to Sherrif Keller, forcing his bought-and-paid-for hand. I liked Kevin, he was one of Betty's best friends, and I'm sure his dad was a good day- probably better than mine- but when it came to his job he was a dick. Even with all of this, he was reluctant, but in the end he did do his job.

Hiram Lodge was behind bars. For now.

Moments later, the infamous Veronica Lodge showed up and slapped me in the face. I didn't blame her, she was a daddy's girl through and through. She cried on Betty until an officer came and said her father requested her presence.

Things were eerily quiet, so I could hear everything bounding through the hallway. She asked him what her father was in for. She gasped upon finding out that he not only had evidence against him showing that he killed Jason Blossom but that he was the one that had nearly killed her Archiekins.

Things stopped being quiet. You could hear her sobs and as she went into the interrogation room to see her father, she yelled "Daddy how could you?!" The door then closed behind her and there was nothing but silence once again, or at least until Alice and Hal Cooper came, comforting Betty and glaring at me for sticking my big fat nose in where it doesn't belong. That's usually how these kinds of things went.

I swear, Penelope Blossom was the only one thankful that we found out what happened to her son and prevented further murders and overdoses. Cheryl would probably have been too, if she hadn't locked herself in her room trying to process the whole thing. It wasn't said, but I'm pretty sure Cliff Blossom knew what happened which explained the time I saw him with those pills.

The next day Hiram Lodge was released. Archie hadn't died and they used that as a bartering chip to just pay a fine. Rich people always got off, which just meant I had to watch my back even more. Money talks, I should have known. You can shine a light on evil but that just gives it a bigger shadow.

Veronica mysteriously ended up being sent away to a Young Women's Retreat, whether it was her choice or not is uncertain even now.

Despite a less than ideal ending, we weren't going to let our spirits damper. We solved the mystery and maybe Hiram would think twice before killing in cold blood over petty crap. I took Betty to Pop's for a real date, followed by a show at the Bijou, and things slowly went back to normally. By normal, I mean normally like a town in denial, because in the end too many people died and the town was too unsafe for too long. Riverdale would never truly be the same seemingly innocent town again.

Fin.

A/N: thanks for waiting it out with me. It might seem a bit rushed but this was the plan. It might not be satisfying but I kind of want a little bit of anxiety at the end. These stories don't end with a "happily ever after". It didn't for my late friend Damon who passed on back in 2015 due to a fentanyl overdose. This story is dedicated to you and may you rest in peace.


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